Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Leo stood at the counter, watching the arrogant phoenix stride from the bakery.
He frowned. Something had felt…off with Lord Percival Everflame right at the end there.
Still, Leo was glad to see the back of him. If the phoenix had a problem, it sure as fuck wasn’t Leo’s concern or responsibility.
He glanced around the bakery. None of the customers seemed to have need of Leo, so he headed into the back.
His eldest sister, Ordelia, kneaded dough. His brother, Lachlan, along with his partner and cat-shifter familiar, Kit, sliced dried plum cakes.
A recipe book stood open beside Jasper, Leo’s twin brother. His finger moved over the page. “I need lemon juice for the drizzle.”
“No problem.” Trent, their youngest brother, went to grab lemons.
Jasper mixed dry ingredients, which Trent had already collected and measured out, in a large bowl. His expression pinched as he cracked eggs into the mix.
“How’s the cakes coming along?” Leo asked as he came up beside Jasper.
“Fine.” Jasper stirred the ingredients. “No issues.”
“That’s good,” Leo said.
Jasper didn’t respond.
After a moment, Leo walked to the apple slices he had been preparing before he’d gone to serve. “Did you see that Lord Percival Everflame came in again?”
“Did he?” Jasper asked, although he didn’t sound particularly interested. He didn’t even look up from his work.
“And he was just as arrogant as he was yesterday.” Leo laughed. “He’s such a conceited prick. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so full of themself!”
Jasper’s lips tugged up at the corners. But that was it.
Leo swallowed. There’d been a time when his brother would have asked questions and wanted to know all about Lord Everflame. Then the two of them would have laughed together, mocking the jerk.
There’d been a time when he and Jasper’s constant laughter, joking, and bickering would fill the bakery when they worked.
But of course, that was all before Jasper’s accident.
“Although, I suppose we don’t tend to get nobles in this part of the city,” Leo said. “So maybe that’s normal behaviour for hoity-toity lords and whatnot.”
“I’m surprised he came in again,” Trent said as he juiced the lemons. “Didn’t he complain yesterday?”
“Eh!” Leo rolled his eyes. “He went on and on, telling me off for my poor manners and for keeping him waiting while I served other customers. I thought for sure I’d never see him in here again.” He placed the sliced apples onto the pastry lining the tin.
“He must have liked your pies, then,” Lachlan said.
Kit nodded. “They are very good!”
“He said the food was passable.” Leo chuckled. “What a conceited dickhead!”
Everyone laughed. Everyone except Jasper, who stirred the mixture, facial features tight. Like he was in pain. Which he probably was.
The bell above the bakery door rang.
“I’ll get it.” Trent put down the lemons and wiped his hands on his apron. “Hopefully it won’t be another haughty lord.” He smiled and headed out to the front.
Leo continued arranging the apple slices. But he kept glancing at Jasper, who sagged in his chair as he mixed. Leo put down the apple slices and headed to the stove. He placed the kettle on. He’d make Jasper ginger and turmeric tea. Hopefully that would give him some strength.
“Once I put the apple pies into the oven, I’m going to head over to the Christmas markets,” Leo said.
More of their siblings would come into the bakery soon to start their shifts.
“Grady should already be at the markets, and I want to help him set up before they open. You planning to come, Jas?” Leo asked.
In recent years, he and Jasper were usually there when the markets opened at midday. The markets had opened the day before on the first day of the Christmas season. But Jasper hadn’t come with Leo.
Since his accident, Jasper had so little energy. The healer had said he should have recovered soon after his fall in the forest. But everything about Jasper’s accident was weird. Even the accident itself.
“I might just stay here again,” Jasper said softly.
“Of course.” Leo smiled at Jasper, even though Jasper wasn’t even looking at him.
“I’ll send over either Trent or Cas once some of the others arrive for their shifts,” Ordelia said.
Leo nodded. He brewed the tea with intention, hoping for Jasper to receive healing. Then he handed the tea to his twin.
“Thanks,” Jasper said with a weak smile.
Swallowing, Leo went back to assembling his apple pies.
Ever since Jasper’s accident, Leo felt like a chasm had exploded between them. They’d been so close before. Inseparable. They’d worked the same shifts in the bakery. They’d told each other everything. They’d had no secrets.
They’d fought a lot. Almost constantly. But still, they’d been close.
Now everything had changed. And Leo couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something going on with Jasper, and it wasn’t just his continued health issues. He felt like Jasper was keeping something from him.
But what? When would Jasper have had the time to develop a secret?
Leo was so fucking confused. And he didn’t know what to do. He rolled out the pastry and cut it into strips.
He should just be happy Jasper was alive. After all, his twin had come very close to dying. He licked his lips as he laid the strips of pastry in a lattice formation over the apples. He flicked his gaze to Jasper, who was now mixing the lemon drizzle topping.
They’d been in the forest in late summer, collecting blackberries for a cake they wanted to bake. The sky had been clear and the sun warm. They’d ended up walking along a steep track up a hill. There’d been a sharp drop to one side.
He’d been walking ahead. Then behind him, he’d heard his brother’s sharp yell. He’d turned just in time to watch rocks slipping out from beneath his brother’s feet. His brother had fallen flat on his face and slid towards the drop, hands scrabbling at roots and dirt, trying to halt himself.
Then Jasper had disappeared over the edge.
Even now, Leo’s heart thumped against his ribs as he remembered that wretched moment.
It had taken him precious minutes to find a safe way down the steep decline. He’d almost fallen a couple of times himself. And when he’d gotten to the bottom, he found his brother, unconscious by a deep pond of water. His clothes, hair, and skin had been drenched.
A fox had stood with her paws on Jasper’s chest. Her ears had flicked as Leo ran to his brother’s side.
Jasper had no memory of what had happened after he fell. He must have knocked his head during the fall and then landed in the pond. That was what the healer had said.
But if he’d fallen into the water, how did he get out of it unconscious?
Had the fox dragged him out? Yet she’d been bone dry.
And she’d been a normal fox as far as they could tell.
They’d wondered for a while if she might be a shifter or something else.
But if she was, she was still hiding it from them.
So how had Jasper not drowned? Had he fallen in and then climbed out before fainting or something? The healer didn’t think so. But then what?
The healer hadn’t seemed to spend much time thinking about the mystery. Nor had he managed to heal Jasper. Leo had told Jasper they should find another healer. Grady, their oldest sibling, thought so too. But Jasper didn’t seem to care.
And since the accident, Leo’s relationship with his twin had fractured. And Leo didn’t know why. Or how to fix it. He just kept trying to be there for Jasper. Hoping that with time, their relationship would be what it had been.
But the rift ripped him in two.
He took the assembled apple pies to the oven.
“I’ve got rolls in there,” Ordelia said. “But I can put your pies in when they’re done if you need to go to the markets.”
“Thanks.” Leo set them on a counter near the oven. Once again, he looked at Jasper.
Now Jasper grimaced, hands on his knees as he sat, no longer working. Of course, this tended to be the worst time of day for Jasper. He usually worked from early morning. By now, he’d been awake and working for several hours. He needed to rest.
But none of them would suggest Jasper finish up for the day and go upstairs to his room. If they did, Jasper would snap at them.
Grady had told Jasper to take as much time off as he needed and only work when he felt up to it. But Jasper liked to work. He hated being constantly in his room, recuperating. So he worked until he was overly exhausted and clearly in pain. Then he went upstairs.
Leo’s throat tightened. Why wasn’t Ordelia’s healing broth and soup working? Why didn’t the daily elothea tea the healer had prescribed for Jasper heal him? Leo didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to help.
Ordelia clasped Leo’s shoulder and squeezed. He cast her a grateful smile.
Leo walked over to Jasper. Kali, the fox who’d appeared the day of the accident, sat curled by Jasper’s feet. She’d followed them home from the forest, and soon after, she’d become Jasper’s familiar.
Kneeling, Leo patted Kali’s head. Her tongue lolled. “I’ll head off now.”
Jasper met his gaze. “I’ll see you later, then.”
“Do you need me to get you anything?” Leo asked, even though he knew he shouldn’t. His twin hated the constant sympathy.
“I’m fine,” Jasper said, voice curt and tight.
Nodding, Leo rose. Jasper didn’t like to ask for help. He never had. And he didn’t like Leo helping him in the bakery. But strangely Jasper accepted Trent’s assistance. Maybe because Trent was the youngest.
With a final glance at his twin, Leo left the bakery through the back door. In the alley, he stood, watching snowflakes fall, letting his breath fog the air.
Fuck, I miss my brother.
He closed his eyes. He really should just be grateful his brother was still alive. But this rupture between them stung.
He opened his eyes. And startled. “What?”
A raven stood on the snow in front of him, peering up at him. The raven had not been there a second before. The raven hopped closer.
“You’re a brave one.” The ravens Leo had seen around the city had always been timid. What was up with this one?
Then he properly looked at the bird. It was missing feathers. And it was quite thin. Had the raven been injured? Or was it losing feathers because it was starving? Did ravens lose feathers when they were starving? It was winter. Food might be hard to come by.
“You hungry?”
It tilted its head, beady black eyes staring up at him. Maybe the raven had been drawn in by the smell of the bakery. Did ravens like fresh bread?
“I’ll see if I can find you something to eat.” Leo re-entered the bakery.
“What are you doing back?” Ordelia asked.
“There’s a bird outside,” Leo said. “I’m going to feed it.” He found the jar of seed that they used to feed Archimedes, the pigeon familiar belonging to another brother, Briar. He poured the seed into his hand.
“A bird?” Kit’s cat ears perked up.
Lachlan laughed. “Leave the poor thing alone, Kit.”
“It’s a raven,” Leo said.
Kit drew back slightly. “I attacked a raven once when I was in my cat form. It was a strong bird, clever and wily, with a fast beak. I didn’t kill it.”
“Well, lucky we can buy you all the fish and meat you could ever want. You don’t have to hunt and scrounge anymore.” Lachlan wrapped an arm around his waist.
Kit smiled and leaned against Lachlan. “It is lucky.”
Leo laughed, and with one last glance at Jasper, who sat silently on the stool, he went outside.
“You’re still here,” he said to the raven.
The raven made a low, gurgling croak.
Leo threw out the seeds. Immediately, the raven pecked at them, gobbling them down. “Seems you are hungry.” He watched the raven eating, knowing he should probably head off to the Christmas markets. But for a few moments, he just watched the raven eat.
Finally the raven finished. It fluffed its wings, stretched them, and flew into the air. Leo watched the dark figure growing smaller before it disappeared.
And strangely, for a moment, Leo wondered what a phoenix looked like in flight.